A Televisual Feast

I’ve read it opined the problem with “Rebus” is the episodes, running seventy minutes, adapt full novels and rush too much. I’m not sure if I’ve ever felt it was a problem before (having never read any of the novels), but with this season opener, there’s something wrong. No question, there’s a lot of going on in this episode, but it’s not all (at first glance) related to the case the episode opens with. The tying developments are, unfortunately, seriously contrived (I’m guessing they might not seem so convenient in the novel).

More problematically, as is common for “Rebus,” the character development is one step forward, two steps back. I made a joke about a “Rebus” drinking game (it would kill anyone), since Rebus’s wonderful method to solving cases is to get drunk and think about them. But Rebus never drinks less, never decides to slow down. His relationship with his partner and boss are always contentious, even though he’s proven himself over and over again. It’s worst in this episode….

The problem, I’m assuming, comes from the nature of the series. Novel adaptation after novel adaptation, even if it’s a series of novels, isn’t going to make a television serial. The characters just never grow.

2.5